SFA 2: Revenge of Scales
by Dak Kaliero
Summary: My version of a sequel to StarFox Adventures, in which General Scales comes back. And this time, he won't be stopped. PG-13 for mild voilence and mild language.
1. Serenity

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SFA 2: Revenge of Scales

By Dak Kaliero

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Prologue

A clear sky shone over the Krazoa Palace on Dinosaur Planet. The spirits had been returned, and all was peaceful once again. The SharpClaw guard on the roof, Dak Kaliero, was relaxing. _Nothing ever happens here anymore, _he thought. _All we do is sit around and laze. It's boring._

For, only a week earlier, Fox McCloud had defeated General Scales once and for all. The evil General that had oppressed the SharpClaw, making them act as soldiers, had been killed in the final Krazoa Shrine, though everyone still wasn't quite sure how it had happened. But the point was that Scales was finally gone.

Suddenly a sound came from the direction of the sixth Krazoa Shrine. Dak leapt up, his quarterstaff in his hands, calling, "Who's there? Show yourself!" He walked to the Shrine entrance portal, seeing no one around. _Could they have gone into the Shrine? _he thought curiously, stepping onto the warp.

He was gripped for a moment with the strange feeling of disintegration, then reintegration. At his presence, the gate of the Shrine opened, and he stepped in. "Who's there?" he called once again.

Dak barely saw a green flash before twin hooks raked across his face, and the force of the blow knocked him out.

***

Chapter 1

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(1 month later)

BeepBeepBeep! "Yah!" Fox fell out of his bed with a yell, toppling to the floor with a thud. "Wha..?" He muttered drowsily, still half-asleep. "Oh," he said turning off the alarm clock. "Krystal, why didn't you wake me up?" he asked, then rubbed his eyes and noticed his wife wasn't there. _She's probably in the bathroom, _he thought with a shrug, and walked to the Great Fox's mess hall.

Peppy, Falco, and Slippy were all there, and eating. "Cold pizza and a soda, ROB," he said, and ROB served the food up immediately. "Fox, your current eating habits are not in regulation with the General Pepper's recommendation of a well-balanced breakfast," ROB said in his monotone voice. "Yeah, yeah," Fox responded, ignoring him. "Mmmm... Pepperoni..."

The door hissed open, and Krystal walked in. The sight of her woke Fox up completely. She stood in the doorway, wearing her new StarFox Team uniform. Her new boots sparkled radiantly. She had on the green uniform pants, a red tank top, and a white short-sleeved jacket, open in front. Her shiny StarFox badge had two feathers to each wing, designating second-in-command. Fox noted with satisfaction that she had clipped her blaster holster to her hip.

Krystal laughed, "What are you staring at, Fox?" She sat down next to him, ordering toast and scrambled eggs with orange juice. "I'm sorry I didn't wake you up earlier, but I was thinking about things..." her face looked troubled. "I still don't know who killed my parents," she said sadly. She was referring to something that had happened a few years ago. Her home planet, Cerinia, had been wiped barren by a biological attack. Krystal had been the only survivor.

"Don't worry, Krystal," Fox said. "We'll find out in due time." He hugged her, saying, "We're always traveling throughout Lylat, and we're sure to find someone who knows."

He didn't truly believe what he said, but Krystal had been dwelling on this topic of late. He wanted to make her feel better, so he tried to give her some consoling words. But that didn't mean he didn't still feel like a louse.

At that moment, he made a promise to himself. _Krystal, I vow to find out what happened to your parents. I'll investigate every lead we find, until we find the right one. Then I'll go through to the end._


	2. Training

Chapter 2

"What's on the agenda for today, Krys?" Fox asked. Krystal looked at the readout, and read, "1000 hours. Krystal's flying lessons." Fox sighed. "Great," he said sarcastically. It wasn't that Krystal was bad, she just took a while getting used to the controls. The Great Fox still had a scar from when she meant to charge her lasers and launched a bomb instead. Right into the Great Fox's side. Those were extensive repairs, and they hadn't been quite completed yet. Fox looked at his watch. 9:30. "All right, let's go."

They reached the launch bay, and walked to their ships. Fox's ArWing was still a little banged up from Dinosaur Planet, but Krystal's was brand new. Better yet, Fox had given it a new paint job. The regular white and blue combo had been changed to blue and green, respectively. Why was he spending a fortune to do this stuff? They needed the money for repairs and upgrades! But somehow, he didn't care.

Fox hopped into his ArWing, Krystal climbed into hers. They started their G-Diffusers, and flew out into the vast starry expanse. Not a planet within a hundred miles.

"Okay, Krystal. We're practicing combat skills today. I'll activate a set of holograms, and you have to shoot them. Every time you destroy a set, the next set will be activated. Got it?"

"All right, Fox. I'm ready."

"Then... GO!" Fox flipped the command switch, and the holograms materialized.

The level started simply, just slow moving, unarmed ships. Krystal breezed through it easily. Level 2 started up. The ship moved more quickly, more erratically. But Krystal still bagged them all with no problem. Level 3. Now they were armed. Krystal was careful, shooting only when she had a clear shot, rolling to deflect others. She was at 95% shields, only hit once.

Then Level 4. The new set appeared, in two formations of eight each. Krystal was again watching, letting them make the first move. A mistake. Before she knew what was happening, the ships had circled her and fired. Only a few seconds passed, and she had dropped to 20% shields. Krystal tried to escape by somersaulting. Which caused her to crash through a hologram.

The alarms stopped ringing, and the ships disappeared. Krystal was excellent until Level 4. She had always lost it there. Fox glanced at his watch, which read 1130 hours. "Let's head back in for lunch, OK Krys?" Fox asked. He didn't show it, but Krystal knew he was disappointed.


	3. The Beginning

Chapter 3

Fox was walking on a planet. In the middle of the night. Why, he didn't know. All he knew was that he and Krystal had to get away as fast as possible.

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Wait, where is Krystal? Fox suddenly thought. "Krystal!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. _"Son, look out!"_ a different voice said, and Fox turned around, only to see a green blur before metal slashed across his face.

"NOOOO!" Fox yelled, jumping up and almost out of bed again. _Just a dream, Fox calm yourself down,_ He thought. _Krystal's right next to you in bed._ He looked over, expecting to see Krystal's sleeping form. She wasn't there.

He almost panicked, but then he saw the note. Krystal wasn't kidnapped after all!

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Fox, gone for extra training.

Can't have problems when I need to fight!

Sincerely,

Krystal

So Krystal just wanted to put in extra training time. Fox was relieved. He dressed and went down to the launch bay. Krystal's ArWing was gone. He went to the computer screen and brought up the display for her ship.

Then he knew something was wrong. The screen read: "SYSTEMS ERROR: ARWING #5 NOT IN USE" "What the..?!" Fox exclaimed. He pressed a button on his wrist pad. "ROB, scan the area for 200 meters in every direction," Fox ordered. "Scanning now," ROB complied. "Scan complete. One unidentified ship in the area, accelerating away."

"Hail it!" Fox said. "Processing... link created. Hail window activated."

"Fox McCloud. How good to see you again. It has been such a long time," the pilot of the ship said, appearing.

"It's you!" Fox exclaimed.

The figure laughed. "Yes. I, General Scales, am alive. Did you really think that I had died when I released that Krazoa? No, I was simply paralyzed, because I had been one with it for so long. When I could move again, I found that my SharpClaw had deserted me, and I was stripped of my former power. Furthermore, the gate out was locked, and only one entering from outside could open it. I bided my time, and when I judged the time was right, I used what little power I had left to lure a SharpClaw in, and open the gate for me. Then I could escape.

"But I needed my revenge on you. Which I have just put into motion, by kidnapping your wife! You will go, in your one-animal ship, to the coordinates I am sending to you now. We will fight as it was meant to be, without interference from anyone else. And then you will die." The connection was severed, and Scales disappeared.

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I've got to save Krystal, Fox thought. _And I will._


	4. Darkness Returns

Chapter 4

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Where am I? Krystal thought, dragging herself into consciousness. Her head was pounding, but she couldn't remember hitting it. She touched her forehead, and found a large lump. When she looked at her fingers, she saw blood. Moaning, she got up into a sitting position. Then Krystal realized she was in a cage. _What happened?_ She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She remembered getting up in the middle of the night, and going for extra ArWing training. She had actually gotten to Level 7 in the simulator. 

She was doing great, but a new, larger ship had just appeared. She went in, firing at it; then it fired back. Her ArWing shook with the blasts, and Krystal knew it wasn't a hologram. She tried to fly back to the Great Fox, but it fired at her engine, and it died out. At the same time she was placed in a tractor beam. The sudden halt had caused her head to hit the controls, and she had blacked out. That had caused the bloody lump on her head.

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My ArWing! She suddenly thought, and sat up straight, looking around. No, it was there, in the opposite corner of the room. She squinted through the darkness to inspect the engine. The laser shot hadn't really damaged it, just overloaded the system. The ArWing wasn't quite so shiny anymore, but it looked like it would still fly.

She now checked herself more closely. Except for the lump on her forehead, Krystal seemed to be uninjured. She noticed that she still had her blaster. _Good_, she thought. It could be used to escape.

Then the lights came on. Krystal was temporarily blinded by the brightness, but her eyes soon adjusted. When she could see again, there was a dinosaur standing in front of her.

"Scales! Let me go, right now!" she yelled.

"Oh, no. I shall have to keep you here, for how else can I assure that Fox is following me?" He replied.

"What? Fox?"

"Yes. I do not care what happens to you. You are merely the bait to lure your husband to me. He did me wrong when he took the final Krazoa. I wanted to kill him! But I was not able to. That Andross ruined my plans for domination. But you are a pawn in my revenge."

"You're insane," Krystal said coldly.

"How DARE you insult me!" Scales roared, raising his hook. "You insolent, little..." he restrained himself, glaring at her. "That is not the way to survive, my girl. As your life depends on me, I would not be rude if I were you."

"Then let me out," Krystal pleaded. "I have no quarrel with you. I don't need to be imprisoned."

"No. I need you in a secure place to ensure you don't attack me. This cage will suit you just fine," Scales laughed. "I will return, later, with rations. Sadly, I must keep you alive."

He walked out the door, which sealed itself behind him. The lights shut off again, leaving Krystal in the darkness a second time. _How will I ever escape?_ She wondered.


	5. The Adventure Begins

Chapter 5

Fox was packing a few supplies into the cargo area of his ArWing. "Fox, you know it's a trap! There's no way you're going in alone!" said Peppy. "Yeah, Fox," agreed Falco. "That Scales character ain't gonna give you Krystal jus' for followin' him. He only wants ta lure ya someplace where he can ambush ya and finish ya off quickly." Slippy just stood there sadly.

Fox turned, the fur under his eyes damp from tears. But the eyes themselves showed grim determination. "Guys, I know that. But I can't let Krys remain in Scales' clutches. If I don't do as he says, all he has to do is use his hook. That's why I have to go alone."

The others knew there was no stopping him. Once he got his mind set on something, he wouldn't stop for anything. That's why he was their leader. Determination.

Fox closed the cargo compartment and said, "You guys take care of yourselves while I'm gone. Falco, you're in command. Try to stay out of trouble." Fox pulled himself up the steps, remembering how easily he had leapt up only the day before. The cockpit hatch closed. He pressed the ignition switch and punched in the access code. The G-Diffuser activated, causing the craft to hover, while the landing gear retracted.

Fox then pressed the button to start the engine. It slowly gathered energy until a large energy ball was glowing bright blue at the end. It then expelled the energy, firing the ship out into space. Fox entered the coordinates into the computer. Fox looked at the screen readout. "Hmm, an asteroid field. Scales sure doesn't want me to have an easy way in." He turned on the autopilot, and the ArWing rocketed off into the depths of space.

Back on the Great Fox, Falco looked at Slippy. "Did you install the tracking device?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Good."


	6. Escape and hope

Chapter 6

After observing the room for a few hours, Krystal had come up with a plan. The reason it had taken her so long was because her ArWing's G-Diffuser was damaged, and it would not be able to take off. But she had finally figured out a way past that.

There were several security cameras in the room, all trained on her. She figured that she could use her blaster to shoot the cameras, melt the cage lock, and run to her ArWing. She could get the ArWing back online, then launch a Nova Bomb into the bay doors. The air should be sucked out into the vacuum of space, and her ArWing along with it. From there, all she had to do was fly back the way the ship had come and she would get back to the Great Fox.

It was risky though. The off-line cameras would be immediately noticed by Scales. Even then, the ArWing was dangerously close to where she had to fire the bomb.

Then the image of Fox flashed before her eyes. She would do it, no matter what the risk, for him.

On the bridge, Scales was almost asleep. Krystal looked like she wasn't going to do anything. What had happened to that fiery girl he had seen on Dinosaur Planet? He closed his eyes remembering.

Her courageous, yet futile, attempt to attack him on his Galleon. She was very brave, though foolish. What had happened? She was so quiet, so withdrawn. Almost as if... she were biding her time!

His eyes snapped open. All three camera monitors from that room were showing snow.

Krystal was in the cockpit, and hot-wiring the ship. Suddenly, the control pad came online, and she brought up the weapons display. She readied a bomb. _For you, Fox,_ she thought, and pressed the button.

Scales, instead of immediately running to the bay, had turned the ship completely around. That delay had quite possibly saved his life. He had just gotten to the door when an explosion knocked him of his feet, into the bulkhead behind him. He knew there was no chance of getting her back now. Not that she'd be going back to Fox McCloud anyway...


	7. Confrontation

Chapter 7

Fox was speeding away, hurling along the most direct route to the coordinates Scales had given him. He only realized it was the most direct when he saw Scales' ship coming up fast. Panicking, he slammed his hand down on the emergency brake, stopping so hard he nearly crashed headlong through the cockpit glass.

The ship appeared to be lifeless. Fox noticed that one of the four launch bay doors was blown away, still smoking. He hailed the ship. The screen flickered a few moments, and then Scales appeared.

"Ah, Fox. You have caught up with me. I thought I gave the coordinates for the planet, not my ship."

"Enough small talk, Scales. Where's Krystal?" Fox growled through gritted teeth.

"Well, I'm sure you noticed the smoking launch bay. The girl was in there."

"I don't care where she _was_. Where is she _now_?" Fox growled again, his blood rising.

"If I knew, don't you think I would be after her by now? She obviously _meant_ to go back the way my ship had come, back to you. But before she escaped, I turned the ship around. She would be heading in completely the opposite direction now. Towards my planet."

"What?!" exclaimed Fox. "I've got to go after her!"

"I wouldn't advise that. Something I didn't tell you about is that my planet is surrounded by an asteroid cloud. That is, a large asteroid field is orbiting around it. The way to the surface is nearly impossible if you don't know the way."

"Why should I believe you?" Fox said angrily. "You oppressed all the dinosaur tribes on Dinosaur Planet. You tried to kill me. You tried to kill me. And now you've kidnapped my one and only love, and you want me to _trust _you? Face it, Scales. I can't believe anything you say."

"Come now, Fox," laughed Scales. "I am a beast of my word. And one thing you can believe, if you do not continue on your mission, I will find and kill your wife." His expression hardened. "I do not care about her. All I want... is you.

"So you have two choices, Fox. Either you can stop trusting me and live the rest of your life with the guilt that you condemned your wife to death; or you can take me at my word, and continue on to the coordinates that I sent you. What do you choose?"

Fox sighed. He knew that Scales was entirely capable of killing Krystal. But he also knew that if he went along, he could wind up dead, _as well as Krystal_.

As long as he went, there was some hope for Krystal. He knew he would even put his own life on the line, if it meant saving hers.

"Scales," he declared, "I will meet you at your planet. And I will kill you." He switched off the transmission.


	8. A New Adventure

Chapter 8

Krystal was free! She had escaped and immediately started flying back, just flying opposite the way the ship was facing. She smiled as she thought of the escape.

She had pressed the button. The world in front of her had seemed to erupt into a dazzling white light as the bomb was launched. It hit the doors almost instantaneously, and the she was immediately sucked through the ripped hull as if it were a black hole. Then her eyes gradually adjusted, and when she could see again she turned her ArWing to the bow of Scales' ship and jetted off.

She was awoken from her reverie when a light flashed and alarm sounded. _Great,_ she thought. _I finally have some hope, and then I'm low on fuel cells! If I can find a planet with raw fuel deposits, I can use that to refill the ship._

She brought up the scan screen, and set it for fuel. Strangely enough, the closest fuel deposit was right in her flight path. It was an unrefined asteroid, along with several other asteroids orbiting a small planet. _Well, that's convenient._ She set the ship on autopilot, and decided to take a nap.

* * *

Fox was, strangely enough, headed in the same direction, towards the same planet, on autopilot. But he was too worried about Krystal to sleep. Instead, he was trying to take his mind off things in a different way.

He was playing a game. Asteroids. What had to be the simplest graphics in the Lylat System, but the hardest to win. But he liked it because in his version, the little ship was modeled like an ArWing, and the other ships were Venomians. Even so, it was even harder than usual because Krystal's face kept popping up in front of his eyes.

He sighed as an alien once again destroyed his ship. _Damn those aliens,_ he thought wearily, as the next life started. He was bored out of his mind. Thinking about Krystal, he remembered a conversation they had had soon after she joined them on the Great Fox.

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"Krystal, what was your planet like?"

"Well, I don't remember very well. I was still only a kit when I had to leave. You see, something happened, some kind of attack, and my family tried to escape." Tears started to fill her eyes. "I was the only one that made it. They were able to store me in a cargo ship, but they themselves were not so lucky." Her voice broke, and she could no longer speak.

"So that's one thing we have in common," Fox said. "My mother and father were murdered as well. By Andross."

Andross. Andross was the cause of all this. If it weren't for him, James and Vixy McCloud would still be alive. If not for Andross, there wouldn't have been any trouble on Dinosaur Planet, which would mean no trouble now.

But, if Fox's parents hadn't died, then he wouldn't have the motivation and determination he did. The things caused by Andross hadn't been all bad. If there hadn't been trouble on DP, then he would still be in financial trouble in a run-down ship. And he wouldn't have met Krystal.

An alarm beeped, interrupting his thoughts. He was approaching the planet. The specs came up on it. Specs which surprised Fox.

Asteroids surrounded the planet. Not just asteroids, it appeared that layers of the planet's crust had been shattered from the surface several times. In fact, the layers were orbiting so perfectly that there were only a few times in orbit that a path through to the main planet could be flown. It was obvious that Fox would have to wait on the layers for the windows to open. He would be camping out again. _What a stupid universe,_ he thought, while plotting a course for the outermost layer.


	9. Memories

Chapter 9

Krystal, meanwhile, was still asleep. She was dreaming, and a very strange dream it was. She was walking on a lush green planet. It was just after the sun had risen, and the dew on the grass was crystalline, pure and beautiful. The morning mist caused all the colors to become pastel farther than 4 meters away.

Then Krystal realized she was no longer 20. She was a young kit, only six years old. She had gotten up early to watch the sun rise, for there was nothing more beautiful to her than a sunrise. Except her mother. Azalea, queen of all Cerinia, was the most beautiful animal on the whole planet.

Krystal had inherited her blue fur from her mother, but her personality was more akin to her father's. She was the determined kind of animal you knew you could trust to do something. When she got a good idea firmly planted in her head, there was nothing that would stop her.

"Kryssie?" a voice inquired behind Krystal, and she jumped and turned around. And there was her mother, still looking a bit sleepy, but radiant nonetheless.

"Mother, I just wanted to see the sunrise. I'm sorry I went out without asking," said Krystal, looking down at the ground.

"My kit, I don't mind at all," said the queen soothingly. "In fact, I wanted to see it with you, but it looks like I got up too late." She smiled. "You sure are quiet, to get out of the palace and to here without waking me up." Seeing Krystal's crestfallen face, Azalea had an idea. "Come 'ere, you!" she yelled and suddenly seized Krystal around the middle, and began to tickle her.

"Mommy!" Krystal cried out, laughing. "Stop it!" she said again, but to no avail. They soon flopped down on the ground, exhausted, with tears in their eyes.

"You're funny, Mommy," said Krystal, recovering. "Well, if I weren't, how would you ever have fun?" her mother replied.

They were interrupted when a strange footpaw came down next to her head. "W-who are you?" the queen inquired, getting up quickly.

There were three of them. They were covered in short brown fur, and they had long tails. The strangest thing was that their footpaws looked exactly like their forepaws.

The one in front said something to one of the others, in a language neither Krystal nor Azalea understood. That one touched something metal on his arm, then spoke. "Who we are does not concern you. Where are the rulers of this planet?"

"I am Queen Azalea," she said, drawing herself up regally, "And I rule with my husband, King Rey."

"Then you are hereby ordered, by the mighty Andross, to come with us." He glanced at Krystal. "The girl, too."

They were led to a clearing where two ships had been set down next to a cliff. The two gleaming, silver vessels were huge. Krystal was awe-struck; she had never seen a spaceship before.

But her mother had. She noticed immediately that one, the smaller one, was an automated cargo ship. She turned quickly to one of the creatures, and asked, "What are we wanted for?"

The commander glanced over his shoulder and replied: "You are to be terminated. This planet is under control of Andross."

It happened almost too quickly to be seen. Azalea had suddenly whipped out the staff that had been hanging, compacted, from her waist. When she had drawn it, it had extended to full length. The first creature had been knocked to the ground by a vicious blow to the head. The second charged Azalea, but was impaled on the butt-end of the staff. The third backed up, then took out his gun and fired. Azalea brought the staff's end to the ground and knelt behind it, activating the shield. She then jumped and pushed the staff deep into the ground, activating an earthquake that knocked the attacker off the cliff.

"Krystal! Come with me!" Azalea yelled. She dragged Krystal over to the cargo ship, and inside to the cockpit. "You stay here, while Mommy goes back outside, all right?" She commanded, while pressing various buttons on the control panel. Krystal noticed her laying the staff on the deck next to the panel. Azalea swung around, then paused, turning to her panic-stricken daughter. She hugged Krystal tightly, then withdrew. Krystal, still confused, saw a single tear roll down her mother's cheek; then she was at the door.

"I love you," Azalea choked out, then pressed the controls next to the hatch, which slowly drew shut. There was a rumble, then nothing.

***

Krystal woke suddenly, in a cold sweat. She remembered now. After that, she had seen a gigantic explosion, and then a cloud of poisonous green gas had covered the planet, as the enemy ships had hurtled out of the atmosphere.

Andross. Andross had killed her parents.


End file.
